The Worst Anniversary
by nannygirl
Summary: It's Red and Kitty's 26th wedding anniversary but things aren't exactly going according to plan. Will things start to shape up or is this really the worst anniversary? A fluffy oneshot to celebrate my 7 year anniversary of posting my first That '70s Show fanfiction!
_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters. I do not own any of the songs, movies, TV shows or other characters that may be mentioned in this story. I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new oneshot! I'll be honest, this story is pretty darn fluffy, there is somewhat of a plot but mostly it's fluff. I was wanting to read some fluff and after rereading some other RK stories for the hundredth time I decided to write a new one of my own. It's been sort of a while since I've written a story with Red and Kitty only and I gotta say, I missed it! Lol Hope you all don't mind. I had a lot of fun writing it but when it came to posting I wasn't too sure about it but with a little help and encouragement from friends and fellow writers here it is! Very special thanks to MistyMountainHop for giving me some weather advice late one night lol. A great big thank you to my fellow Red and Kitty fan, TvFanaticDayDreamer who backed me up on writing the story a few months ago, and another very big thank you to SwanseaGurl who passed on the great strong and brave attitude that helped me firmly decide to post this fluffy story. Thank you! I really hope you all like this story, like I said I really enjoyed writing it. Thank you again for stopping by to read, if you have a few minutes it would mean a lot if you left a little review with your thoughts. I'd love to hear them! Thanks for everything once again, hope you like, and as always, Enjoy!_

 _ **Dedication:**_ _This story doesn't exactly have a dedication; I was writing it back in February but I picked today to post it because today marks seven years that I've been part of the That '70s Show fandom by writing fanfiction for the show. My first That '70s Show story was posted seven years ago. I can't believe it's been seven years, I've had a blast writing all these stories and meeting so many fellow fans and great friends. So if you guys don't mind I'd like to dedicate this Red and Kitty story to all of you. Writers, readers, friends who I've met over the past seven years who have helped make writing all these stories so much fun. Couldn't have done it without you!_

* * *

 **The Worst Anniversary**

"Isn't this fun, Red?" Kitty asked as she continued walk up ahead.

"Yeah," grumbled Red as he and the wicker basket he carried, followed a few steps behind. "I don't know which was more fun. Driving out to almost the middle of nowhere or leaving our car and walking straight out into the middle of nowhere."

On this day twenty-six years ago the pair had been married. As part of the anniversary celebration Kitty had come up with the idea of her and Red going out to have a special anniversary picnic. And since this was a special picnic, Kitty thought it was only right that they have their picnic somewhere special. Instead of going to a loud crowded park, she thought they should find a nice secluded romantic space to have their picnic.

Red liked the idea too. He could do romantic for his wife and secluded meant no people, specifically no dumbasses. However, secluded also meant driving miles out of town to the countryside and walking through the wide open space of nature looking for the perfect picnic spot. Which is what the couple had been doing for the past fifteen minutes or so.

"Watch your step," warned Kitty, just seconds before her husband caught himself from tripping over a small hole dug by some kind of animal.

"Remind me again why I agreed to this."

He really did need to hear the reminder of why he had relented and agreed to having this picnic. His patience was wearing thin and Red was at the point where if he didn't hear this reminder—or if it wasn't as good a reason as it had been initially—he would cancel the whole thing and take him and Kitty back home, even if he had to carry Kitty back to the car himself.

"Because I promised you a BLT sandwich with extra B," his wife laughed but the corners of Red's mouth continued to hang low. "And because it's our anniversary," she added which only earned her a reply of a small grunt. Kitty smiled sweetly as she looked at Red's grumpy face. "And because you love me."

"That's the one," Red grumbled making Kitty smile and release one of her little giggles.

She knew her husband loved her deeply and also knew that the love he had for her could help her get him to do the things she wanted. Some might say she would often take advantage of it but really she just used it to her advantage.

"Oh look, there's a spot right over there," Kitty pointed to a spot under a full grown sycamore tree.

Giggling happily, Kitty rushed towards the newly discovered area with Red following behind grudgingly. Soon Kitty laid out the classic red and white checkered patterned blanket, that she had held in her arms, onto the prickly green grass. After making sure all the corners were sticking outwards, she gracefully sat on the right side of the blanket, leaving the left side of it open for her husband. With not nearly as much refinement as his wife, Red sat down in the empty space and swiftly and very unpleasantly realized he seated himself on top of a pointy rock.

His hand dug under the material, finding the rock, then tossing it off to the side. "We're just sitting and eating right? Then this picnic crap is done with and we can pack up?"

"Well of course not," chided Kitty before laughing at the suggestion. "Sitting and eating are only two things you do on a picnic. There are plenty of other things too."

"Like what?" Red questioned while frowning.

"Like…like relaxing. Lying back and looking up at the sky, talking, things like that. You remember, we used to go on picnics all the time when you were courting me." Kitty reminded with a smile, then felt the need to add in another friendly reminder. "You used to love them."

Red sighed, "I also used to have hair, Kitty, things change."

"Well see, that's one of the reasons I wanted to do this," she began to explain. "To remind us of a time before things changed. Before we had to worry about work, mortgages, or other bills…before we had the kids."

"Those were pretty good times weren't they?" He asked and when Kitty nodded, a lopsided grin formed on Red's lips. "What the hell, we'll give it a shot."

"Yay!" Kitty gleefully cheered.

Seeing his wife so happy made Red's smile grow as he chuckled along with her giggle. Kitty really had brought up a good point and some good memoires of the picnics the two of them used to go on before they were married as well as a few during the early years of their marriage and now Red was really looking forward to recreating some of those moments from the past with his bride.

For the first time in years, Red Forman was actually looking forward to having a picnic. His stomach was showing its own anticipation by rumbling hungrily.

"What kind of chow did you pack?"

"Oh just wait till you see what I packed for us," Kitty replied, overjoyed to see her husband actually getting into having this picnic. She turned to the wicker basket Red had placed between them and flipped open the lid, her smile falling the moment her eyes viewed what was inside. "Oh no."

Noting the disappearance of his wife's smile, Red knew something was wrong. "What?"

Kitty looked up, her face a mixture of sadness and worry. "Well, you know that cartoon with about those two bears that are always stealing picnic baskets?"

"Kitty, there's no bears here," Red nearly laughed at the idea.

"No," Kitty agreed, "but there are a few picnic stealing thieves."

Red continued to scowl at Kitty, trying to figure out just what she was trying to tell him. Picnic stealing thieves…. someone had stolen their picnic? But he had the basket the whole time. And it's not like there was anyone around. Even back at the house, they had managed to leave without seeing any of the kids. Well with the exception of two of the dumbasses who had come into the kitchen when they were preparing to leave…

"Oh jeeze," Red groaned, he already knew the answer. "Not the kettle head and the foreign kid."

"Our own Yogi and Boo Boo," Kitty answered with a nod of her head.

"Well isn't that just ducky," Red spat out. Wasn't it just the way things went? Any time he was actually looking forward to something he got it torn away from him, usually by one of the dumbasses that had taken over his home. "Come on Kitty, let's go home so I can kick their asses."

A frown quickly formed on Kitty's forehead when she saw Red getting ready to push himself onto his feet. She didn't want to go home yet and even though the boys did take their food she didn't want them to suffer the wrath of her husband. Her hand quickly shot out to grab hold of his arm and keep him seated a little longer.

"No, no. It's okay, Red. Now it might not be a complete picnic but they did leave us a few things," she tried to convince him, replacing her frown with her usual grin. "We'll just make the best of it."

Looking at his wife's hopeful smile, Red forced himself to let go of his anger…or at least put it on hold until he saw the two picnic steal dumbasses again. They may have ruined his picnic but he sure as hell wasn't going to let them ruin it for his wife.

He reluctantly remained seated, earning him a small thank you smile from Kitty before she returned to the picnic basket.

"Okay, let's see here. We have some empty Tupperware containers…a few crackers…more empty containers," she dug through the wicker basket trying to find something edible left inside. After a few moments Kitty pulled out another container that didn't quite feel full but has something rattling inside it. Kitty popped open the top and found the sad remains of the fruit salad she had spent the morning preparing. "And a strawberry and a…a single grape."

"You take the strawberry," Red replied, it was the bigger of the two and he knew the fruit was one of her favorites.

Kitty gave him another smile and offered him the Tupperware bowl so he could grab his grape before she took her strawberry.

"What kind of people steal other people's picnic?" questioned Red while glaring at the green grape between his fingers. "The next time I see the two of them my foot is gonna have a picnic in their asses."

A look of displeasure wrinkled onto Kitty's face as she looked down at the berry she'd barely taken a nibble of. "I think I've lost my appetite."

Red shot her an apologetic glance and chewed on his piece of fruit.

"Got anything to drink?"

For a moment Kitty forgot about that several of the items she packed had been removed. "We have some nice, cold…water."

"Water?" Red repeated scowling at the canteen Kitty held up.

She nodded her head sadly but as always tried to find the situation's silver lining. "But the boys were nice enough to leave us the champagne glasses. Wasn't that thoughtful?"

"Yeah, real thoughtful," he agreed in a very dry tone.

Kitty handed the two plastic flutes to her husband and he continued to hold them while she poured the canteen's contents into the glasses. Once the glasses were filled midway, she twisted the bottle top back on and Red handed her a glass; Kitty happily took it, as if it really were filled the sparkling beverage.

Before taking either took a sip of their drinks, Kitty reached over and clinked her flute against Red's.

"Happy Anniversary, Red," her smile was big and bright.

The smile and the words from his wife helped changed Red's gloomy mood, reminding him what the day was really about. It wasn't about picnics or champagne or any picnic ruining dumbasses. It was about celebrating the day that he got to marry the most wonderful girl in the world.

He smirked back at her, "Happy anniversary, Kitty."

Slowly the two leaned in closer, their lips longing to touch the others, when suddenly a loud roar from above startled them both.

"What was that?" Kitty worriedly looked around their surroundings.

"Sounds like thunder."

"It's not supposed to rain today," replied Kitty even though as she spoke she'd spotted the incoming gray clouds. "There weren't any storm clouds on Windy Willie's Weather chart."

"That dumbass wouldn't know a storm cloud if it came and bit him in the ass," Red grumbled this time getting himself onto his feet, he could tell from the second boom of thunder that they wouldn't have much time before the rain came in. "Let's go."

Hurriedly the pair began to gather their things. There wasn't a lot to pack up just a few empty Tupperware boxes and dumping out the tasteless liquid from the plastic champagne flutes. Even the checkered blanket was swiftly folded up into a nice square. They were done in under just a few minutes, however still had to make it back to the Toyota.

Thanks to Kitty's search for the perfect spot they had walked a great distance through the open area and now they had to walk that same great distance to get back to their car. It was a long journey and one that got rained on even before their vehicle was in their line of vision.

Kitty made a noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a squeal as the pouring rain caught up with them.

Instantly Red grabbed the blanket then shook it open before lifting it up and above their heads as an attempt to shield them from some of the rain. A smile formed on Kitty's face at her husband's quick thinking buffer and she reached up to grab the right corner of blanket that was above her head. With their hands gripping the flapping, quickly dampening blanket that they held above themselves, the couple scurried off to their car.

By the time they reached the Toyota the checkered blanket was soaked. Red made sure Kitty was safely seated in the passenger side before running off in front of the car to get to the driver's side.

"Well that was the worst picnic we've ever had," declared Kitty, her eyes staring out her door's rain splattered window.

Red nodded his head but a smirk was twitching to come out, he looked over at Kitty. "Might even be worse than the one with the squirrels."

"Yeah, I think so," she agreed.

Her head turned to look at Red and when her gaze locked on his it was like they could see the long ago memory in each other's eyes and they burst out with laughter.

"It was a nice try, Kitty," Red said once their laughter had started to die down. "But what do you say you let me handle our dinner tonight?"

Wiping her eyes, she frowned, "You?"

"Sure," his smirk was practically a smile now, full of mischief and charm. "I got us reservations at the quietest room at The Vineyard. Just the two of us. What do you say?"

The tears Kitty had been wiping away started to form again as she smiled back at her husband. "That would be great, Red."

"Then let's get going!" Red announced before starting up the engine.

0o0o0o

The sky was darker and the rain was heavier and The Formans were still driving around. Not wanting to make this the second anniversary they spent in a hospital, Red slowed his driving speed which made the drive back home even longer than the drive away from it had been.

Despite being caught in the middle of a storm, Kitty was neither nervous nor worried; Red was a good driver and if you ignored the occasional booming roll of the thunder the noises of the storm were quite peaceful. It was listening to the sound of the rainfall outside and the crooning voice of Charlie Rich on the radio, that lulled Kitty into a serene slumber.

Unfortunately, those weren't the same sounds that woke her up moments later.

"Damn it!"

"What?" Kitty startled awake and looked around appearing more than a little frazzled. "What did Eric do?"

Red looked at her, his expression showing his disappointment. "For once it's not our son," he sighed. "We ran out of gas."

"We ran out of gas?" Now Kitty was more awake and more aware of what was going on.

Nodding his head and pressing his lips together, Red tightened his grip on the steering wheel as if that would suddenly make the car go. "Until the rain clears up, we're stuck out here."

"We're stuck out here?"

Slightly annoyed, Red swung his head to look at his wife. "You gonna keep repeating everything I say?"

"I'm sorry," she was quick to apologize, shaking her head; she hadn't even realized that she'd been doing it. "I just…how could we run out of gas? How could you not put more gas before we left?"

"I thought we had enough," Red argued, his frown starting to set in. "And we would have if you didn't have us driving around all of Wisconsin looking for a perfect spot for a damn five-minute picnic."

At first Kitty stared wide-eyed at her husband. She couldn't believe he had said those words to her, but then she realized just how true those words really were and her eyes slipped closed before her right hand came up to cover half of her face. Red felt his heart sink the instant he saw her body start to subtly tremor.

"Kitty," he said, his voice full of his guilt. "I'm sorry."

"No," replied Kitty, removing her hand and shaking her head. "I'm sorry. You're right. I had us driving around, I got us stuck out here…I just wanted us to have a happy anniversary and instead I've give us the worst anniversary!"

The way Kitty's face crumbled as she broke out into tears, Red did his best to hold back his smile. She really did want the night to be perfect for the two of them. That was Kitty for you. Wanting and trying to make things perfect for not just herself but others too—it was one of the many things he loved about her.

"Come on, Kitty. That's not true," comforted Red, gathering Kitty in his arms. She sniffled and rested her head on his shoulder while his hand rubbed her upper arm. "Hey. I'm spending it with you. That's all I need to make this a happy anniversary."

Kitty raised her head off his shoulders and gave her husband a tearful smile. "Oh, Red."

This time Red felt no need to try to hide his smirk and he wore it happily as he moved in closer to his wife until his lips pressed against hers in a tender loving kiss.

As their kisses ended their embrace remained intact. Kitty laid her head back onto his shoulder and Red's arm continued to hold her close. They sat in a comfortable silence looking out the wet blurred windshield of the Toyota, when something out in the rain caught Red's attention.

"What's that?" he frowned, trying to get a better look outside.

"What?"

"That."

Following where Red's hand was pointing, Kitty soon frowned too. "It looks like a house."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go check it out."

Never would Kitty have expected to hear Red make this suggestion. She looked at him like she thought he'd lost his mind. "Red Forman, we can't just barge into someone's home unannounced."

"Why not?" Red didn't seem to think it was much of a big deal. "People do it to our home all the time. Let's go see what it's like to be on the other side."

Kitty just stared back at her husband. The more he tried to talk her into this the more she realized she shouldn't have been so surprised by him coming up with the idea. During the days of their courtship and even the years of their marriage before they became parents, Red was mostly known for his toughness and his bravery of fighting for his country but he was also known for pulling pranks, breaking more than a few rules, and getting into a bit of trouble.

Back in the day Red was just as mischievous as his son and his friends. Not that he would ever share this with them—nor would he let his wife breathe a word of it.

Noting the silent response he'd gotten from Kitty, Red continued to speak. "Besides the lights are all off, there's probably no one in there."

"Or they could be mass murders!" Kitty's curls shook as she jumped to the extreme.

"Right. Or worse," the familiar frown began to reappear on Red's forehead. "They could be home."

"See, now you're thinking logically…"

"Let's go!" Red interrupted her statement with a devious smirk.

Shock covered Kitty's face, "Red!"

Red pulled his upper body out of the backseat, retrieving the wet blanket, picnic basket and a few other items—like Kitty's purse—that he didn't think would be safe to leave in the car while it was out here in the middle of nowhere.

"Come on, Kitty," he urged teasingly. "where's you sense of adventure?"

"It's hiding because it doesn't want to be killed by some house in the woods living, mass murder," came Kitty's sharp reply with a matching glare.

Her husband did not look ready to drop the subject just yet. "You're the one who's always telling me to be more spontaneous."

"As in bringing me flowers for no reason not breaking into people's homes!"

"You do this with me and I'll bring you all the flowers you want," Red tried to persuade her with an offer and a charming smile. "And I promise I'll protect you from any mass murders."

Kitty sighed while lifting her open hands in the air, she could not see herself wining this argument. "Okay, fine."

0o0o0o

"You could at least knock first," Kitty chided her husband.

They had spent the last few minutes hurrying through the rain once again, this time running away from the Toyota and not towards it. The already soaked blanket from earlier provided only some shelter from the water, causing the pair to pick up speed. Kitty wanted to be upset, she even thought she'd be a little scared, but running through the rain with her husband doing his best to keep her dry, she found herself smiling and laughing alongside him.

Soon they reached the location they'd spotted from the Toyota. It turned out to be a cabin, complete with horizontal laid logs as its exterior walls. Lucky for Kitty there were no signs of a mass murderer living there, or anyone else for the matter. The interior was very dark and the front patio, that the pair was standing under to give them some shelter from the pouring rain, was empty aside from a single abandoned rocking chair.

Red had his hand wrapped around the doorknob, already twisting it and finding it unlocked when his wife spoke her words.

"Guess those dumbasses have been a bad influence on me," he gave her a playful smirk before he pushed open the cabin's door.

"I'll say," Kitty agreed, following close behind when Red stepped into the shelter and flipped up the discovered light switch. "I…"

Kitty's words were swiftly cut off the moment the cabin's lighting illuminated the room and revealed what had been hidden inside. The cabin was not as forgotten as its outside made it appear. There was a comfy looking couch, a few arm chairs and other homey furniture like rugs and lamps, a fireplace that was just waiting to be lit up, and even a small kitchen. But the most surprising sight of all was the small table that been set with two unlit candles, a bouquet of pink carnations, and a bucket of ice—complete with a chilling bottle of champagne. It was such a romantic set up, even having cloth napkins that matched the table cloth.

"Oh my," was all Kitty could say as her mind still tried to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. "What..."

Slinking behind his wife, Red pressed his lips to her temple, "Happy anniversary, Kitty."

She turned her to find her smirking husband and she began to piece it all together. He had done this, for her. Moved, Kitty could hardly speak and just stared at Red with tearing blue eyes.

"How did you…"

"This is Bob's old cabin," explained Red. "He's letting us borrow it for the weekend."

"You planned all this?" A smile began to form on Kitty's lips and Red gave a modest shrug in response.

"I came out here earlier to set everything in here up. I needed to figure out a way to get you out here but you fixed that with your picnic idea," he began to share some of the behind the scenes magic. "The car's not really out of gas. The rain though, that was just a bout of good luck."

Kitty gave a light little laugh, "Oh Red."

"You like it?"

"Oh, honey, I love it," her tearful smile grew as her hand reached up to cup Red's check. "Just like I love you."

Red gave his wife a grin that she quickly got rid of by capturing his lips with hers. Snaking his arms around her waist, Red drew Kitty near, deepening the kiss even more. It took a great deal of strength for Kitty to pull herself enough to break the contact of their lips but still managed keep her safely wrapped up in his strong arms.

"Red, wait," she said, a bit breathless.

"We've got a working kitchen here, Kitty. We'll reheat the food later," he said thinking that was the dilemma.

She shook her head, removing her arms from around Red, "No, it's not that…."

"Kitty, you really don't think I know better?" Red asked taking another stab at what he thought had caused Kitty to suddenly and unusually try to redirect where things were headed. "I switched out Bob's old sheets with some of ours from home."

"Well, while that's good to know…very good to know," Kitty nodded, her fingers fiddling with the collar of his plaid shirt. "I just…I need to use the powder room."

A frown wrinkled onto Red's forehead, "What?"

"It'll be real-real quick," she tried to assure him as she untangled herself from his hold. "After getting caught in the rain and then stuck in the car, a girl needs to fix her face up," a giggle escaped her lips as Red tried to look upset. "Now why don't you open that champagne while I'm gone. And I promise I'll make the wait worth your while."

The sultry tone she spoke in paired with the way Kitty moved her eyebrows up and down made Red's grin reappear, "Fine."

With her purse clutched in front of her Kitty hurried off in the direction that Red had said the bathroom was located. Red watched her retreating figure and she gave him another smile and matching giggle before she closed the restroom's door. Shaking his head, Red got to work on the task Kitty had given him. He uncorked the bottle of champagne and even poured it into the two flutes that unlike their previous pair were real glass.

Once the bubbly had been poured and Red noted that his wife had not reappeared he set his focus on getting a fire started in the fireplace.

It took a few moments but soon enough the once dark and empty inglenook had bright flames warming up the room. Red stood back to admire his handiwork.

"Oh Red,"

Hearing the sound of his bride's voice Red turned around but nearly forgot where he was when he saw her. Kitty was wearing a long red Olga nightgown with a lace bodice and that beautiful smile of hers. The moment he laid eyes on her, Red felt like he had stepped back in time to this very night back in 1954.

"Wow," he finally found his voice and gave Kitty a toothy grin. "Look at you."

All these years together and she could still make his old heart give in.

Kitty gave a bashful giggle while she grabbed the hem of the satin gown and did a little twirl. "Do you like it?"

"You look as beautiful as you did on this night twenty-six years ago," Red's voice was soft as he shared the only thought currently in his mind.

Her lips pressed together creating a tight smile and Kitty tried to blink away the moisture that had formed in her eyes from hearing the touching words that her husband spoke. To so many people he was seen as only a grumpy old man who threatened to put his foot up their rear ends, and while that was his attitude most of the time, when it was just the two of them he was so much more. He was sweet, charming, and could make her feel like she was the only woman in the world.

His eyes were locked on hers and Red picked up the glasses of champagne and began to approach her.

"Wait," he said, his grin suddenly flipping into a confused frown. "I didn't pack that thing," a middle finger pointed to the nightdress. "And you didn't know we were coming here. How did you get that?"

"You're not the only one who still has a few surprises left in them," Kitty flashed him a sly smile before plucking a champagne glass from his grasp.

Red threw his head back a bit and chuckled until he saw Kitty preparing to take a sip of her champagne.

"Hold on a minute, Kitty," he said, stopping her just before the glass made contact with her lips. She stared at him curiously but he merely smirked and lifted his glass in her direction. "To the best worst anniversary?"

Kitty returned the smile and lifted her own flute to his, "To the best worst anniversary."

They held each other's loving gaze as their champagne glasses clinked together. Red and Kitty toasted each other and the anniversary that they were sure to never forget.

 **The End**

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Too sweet not sweet enough? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all liked the story and that it wasn't too fluffy or boring or anything like that. Like I said though I really had fun writing it and hope you all enjoyed reading it too._

 _Once again thank you so, so much for stopping by and being part of the celebration. I know my 100th celebration is still going on but you can never have too much celebration cake, right? Be sure to grab some on your way out! Also I *may* be posting a note about the 7 year anniversary over on my tumblr in case you're interested in reading that, mostly just some thoughts and thank yous because really, the fandom That '70s Show has been one of the best fandoms to be part of and it's because of all of you lovely people! *hugs*_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!_


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